British woman in NY chopper crash

The passengers had to be rescued from the East River.

A British tourist is in a coma in a New York hospital after a sightseeing helicopter crashed into the East River.

The woman - Karen Butler, from Chelmsford - was on a trip to the Statue of Liberty with her husband Gary when the pilot lost control of the aircraft.

The pilot and all six passengers were rescued by harbour patrol vessels, but a policeman had to dive into the water to rescue Mrs Butler after she was flung clear of the helicopter and then became trapped underneath it.

She was said to be "critical but stable" in Bellevue Hospital, Manhattan.

All the passengers on the popular ?140-a-head viewing trip fell into the river and were sprayed with helicopter fuel. Another woman - thrown out of the aircraft with Mrs Butler - needed hospital treatment for a minor injury.

The helicopter plunged into the river near Wall Street shortly after take-off, apparently when a rotor blade was damaged.

The pilot and his four other passengers managed to scramble out and stand on or cling to the aircraft'sinflatable pontoons. They were quickly rescued by police harbour patrol units who were already in the area for a drill.

One policeman saw Mrs Butler was trapped and dived in to save her. She was then airlifted to hospital where a New York Police Department spokeswoman said she was in "a critical but stable condition."

All the passengers were questioned by police and transport safety investigators.

Dr Antonio Dajer of New York's Downtown Hospital said: "It was a very close call.

"The helicopter was lifting off very quickly, clipped something that damaged the rotor and immediately the pilot lost control and pitched into the water.

"The passengers fell into the water and had some exposure to gasoline fumes and were sprayed with fuel." Eyewitnesses said the helicopter's inflatable booms activated after it hit the water last night, keeping it afloat.

Three Australians were among the injured - a 32-year-old man and 34-year-old woman, both from Sydney and a 24-year-old woman also from New South Wales - the Australian foreign affairs ministry said. Their identities were not released.

The helicopter was towed to a pier in lower Manhattan, then taken to Brooklyn, where federal investigators were examining it.

Determining even a preliminary cause of the crash could take two weeks, said Robert Gretz of the National Transportation Safety Board.

All those aboard the helicopter reported hearing a loud bang as they ascended from the Wall Street heliport.

The Bell 206 Long Ranger did a 360-degree roll before the pilot put the six-passenger aircraft in the water and deployed its flotation devices.

The helicopter tours are very popular with tourists and cost from ?75 for 15 minutes to ?138 for 30 minutes.

They are run by Helicopter Flight Services, which claims to have operated for 20 years without accidents, incidents or violations. The company was today unavailable for comment.

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